Beyond the Silence
by Orenda
Summary: After five years of engagement, Shin Makoku is once again on the brink of war. Tragedy strikes too close for comfort, and Yuuri is going to have to struggle with the differences between what’s best for his country, and what’s best for the ones he loves.
1. Chapter 1

**Beyond the Silence**  
_By Orenda_  
_Fandom:_ Kyou Kara Maou (Yuuri/Wolfram)

A/N: So… this is my first attempt at multi-chaptered KKM fic. I have tried writing them before, and have never managed to finish. Since I'm almost done with chapter 4, I feel kind of safe-ish posting this now. I'm mostly doing so because I really want inspiration to finish, or at least continue. I'll try my best to post semi-regularly.

* * *

Boats… why did it _always_ have to be a boat of some sort? Of course they couldn't just travel to places on horseback… No, not Yuuri. He had to go gallivanting off to other countries to see foreign diplomats rather than letting them come to visit him, and the vast majority of which required traveling by water for some period of time or another.

And of course there was no way that Wolfram was going to let his king go without him… _Someone_ had to make sure that he wasn't going to cheat with some woman or something, even if it meant a bit of agony and a whole lot of time leaning over the deck's railing along the way.

At the moment, however, they were safe back in their own country and firmly on solid ground, on the way back to the castle. Wolfram allowed himself to sink into a light doze against the side of the carriage they were riding in, giving his stomach the chance to recover. He tried to drown out the sound of Gunter's voice, who had yet to stop chattering to Yuuri over one thing or another about the trip and it's results; he was probably getting to the point where he told the young king how much he was missed in his absence, and so on…

A light shake to his shoulder made him jolt upright, the sudden sight of the castle in front of them making him realize that he had, in fact, fallen asleep. Wolfram blinked a few times to reorient himself, and sat up even as Conrad smiled at him warmly.

"Feeling better now?"

Wolfram knew that he was referring to the seasickness, which his impromptu nap managed to eliminate the last remaining remnants of and helped him to feel not so dead anymore. He offered his brother a nod, eyes gazing over at his fiancé calmly. It seemed that he wasn't the only one who'd drifted off in the middle of Gunter's welcoming home speech, because Yuuri was just being shaken awake as well.

"Wimp," he muttered softly under his breath, but there was a quiet fondness in his tone, and perhaps a hint of sadness.

It was somewhere around that point that he finally started listening in to the conversation going on in the carriage at that moment, only the topic up for discussion made him frown in displeasure.

"Your Majesty, there's much that will need your attention before the upcoming ball," Gunter was lecturing a still somewhat groggy Yuuri. "Gwendal has been making sure all the necessary documents are ready while I've been organizing the proper staff…"

"Do we really have to go through all this trouble? We could simply meet with the diplomats, sign the treaties, and–"

The silver-haired adviser quickly cut Yuuri off, "Of _course_ it is necessary! If we want to insure that countries continue to form alliances with Shin Makoku, then we must go through all the proper procedures to gain their respect. And as one of the largest sources of power, they shall be looking up to _you_ most of all, Your Majesty."

Yuuri scratched his head with a sheepish grin, "Well, I guess if it's all to show them respect…"

It wasn't the idea of having to actually host the ball itself that bothered Wolfram; he'd been around long enough to know that things like that were all part of the game of politics and had to be dealt with. It was all the socializing required that went along with it that left a sour taste in his mouth. And it was mostly all Yuuri's fault.

For five years their engagement had been ignored and failed to be dealt with one way or another. And for five years, every time there was a social function, the Maou generally ended up dancing with a wide number of beautiful females, ranging from the elegant ruler of Caloria to their energetic daughter who would be reaching the human age of fifteen in another four months. But not Wolfram; very rarely the king might spare a dance for his fiancé when his temper suggested possible death threats if he didn't, but in general he just tended to be, well, forgotten.

And considering the fact that the engagement was public knowledge, people tended to talk, usually in whispers when they thought he couldn't hear them. "I wonder why His Majesty hasn't announced a wedding date yet," or, "It's a pity that Lord von Bielefeld isn't attractive enough to keep his fiancé's attention." Or even, "It's a shame they don't renounce the engagement, because I wouldn't mind being able to sleep in the king's royal chambers…" But Wolfram bore it all, the same way he silently accepted the taunts of being spoiled, lazy, selfish, and more. He stood up for Yuuri and his decisions at all times, even though by now he was doubting their relationship himself more and more as the weeks and months passed on without much change. He'd been so certain that ever since Yuuri had made his decision to stay and rule the country permanently that over time he would certainly gain access to his heart…

Wolfram was shaken out of his thoughts when he realized that the carriage had stopped moving completely, and the others were climbing out. Conrad offered a helping arm, but he quickly brushed it off, stepping out on his own two feet without assistance. The talk of dances put him into a foul mood, so once they entered one of the long hallways inside, Wolfram started walking in the opposite direction from the others.

Yuuri gave him a questioning look, but Wolfram raised his hand in a wave as reassurance. "I have personal business to attend to," he called out. "I'll see you later tonight."

It seemed that Yuuri decided not to question him, afraid of getting in the way of the blond's temper, and Wolfram was free to disappear on his own for the time being.

Little did he know that things were about to start becoming much more interesting.

* * *

It was a few days later that Yuuri found himself with quite a lot to think about. The ball was tomorrow night, the treaty to be signed in the afternoon beforehand, and he'd been running almost nonstop since their return to the Blood Pledge Castle. He'd finally been dismissed after almost dozing off for the third time during his refresher course on the proper way to greet the soon to be arriving foreign representatives, and took the opportunity to lock himself into his private bath.

Sighing softly, he stripped out of his clothes and sank down to his neck in the pleasantly warm water, steam making its way into his nose as his eyes drifted shut. It was quite late by now, enough that he was certain that Wolfram had probably already gone to bed. At least it meant he was far less likely to be interrupted by anyone, and for that Yuuri was grateful.

At the moment, his mind actually wasn't on the ball, or the peace treaty, or all the stress he'd be about to be put under, or anything like that at all. It was rather that his brain was currently stuck on a certain blond haired fiancé of his.

The truth was that he'd actually grown up quite a bit in the last five years. Physically, he wasn't all that different than when he'd arrived in this world, with the exception of a few inches in height, a bit longer hair (although not quite as long as his other half yet), and a little more maturity scattered throughout his still boyish features. It appeared that having the magic of the Mazoku race was affecting him, and his aging had slowed down considerably; this pleased all of his people greatly, knowing that he would live longer, but at the same time, his visits to Earth had started to become annoying, seeing as how most people didn't believe he was twenty years old without proof of identification anymore. It wouldn't be too long before he'd have to start lying about his age the same way the others did while on his home world.

But that didn't explain his situation about Wolfram very much. The main problem was that it was much easier to ignore his feelings than it was to confront them, but at the same time he knew that he was hurting his best friend in the process. Wolfram had been avoiding him lately, it seemed, going off on his own a lot or occupying his time with Greta when he didn't have duties to perform with his men. Yuuri wanted to ask him about it, but he just hadn't had the time to chase after him, either. Although…. He did have a fairly good guess for once on what was wrong. It seemed that the blond was most likely to storm off when the ball was mentioned in one way or another, and honestly… Yuuri didn't blame him all that much.

He knew that he tended to let the crowds get the best of him, and enjoyed being social and talking to everyone. And he knew that he never paid half as much attention as he should to Wolfram. He'd even heard one or two whispers himself from the crowd about what they thought about his "engagement". Grown from the awkward teen he had been, he wasn't as naïve as he used to be. He just… didn't know what to do about it.

Yuuri knew that Wolfram loved him from the bottom of his heart; there was never a doubt in his mind about that. The problem had always been his own indecisiveness, his fear that held him back. But lately… he had a very strong feeling that he couldn't ignore it anymore.

It started off innocently enough. One day Yuuri found himself alone, and he'd been hit with the strongest urge to curl up against Wolfram's side and lean his head on the prince's shoulder. He wasn't entirely sure why, because he wasn't particularly stressed or lonely at the time, but the feeling lingered. He'd eventually pushed it to the back of his mind, telling himself that it was stupid to be thinking of such things as a man… But then it persisted again later. Finally unable to stand it anymore, he'd compromised to himself by sitting down next to Wolfram and resting his arm against Wolfram's warm thigh. When the blond gave him a thoroughly confused look and had asked what was wrong, he quickly pulled away again, insisting that it had been nothing at all.

And then the dreams began. Luckily for Yuuri, his fiancé was quite a sound sleeper and there was very little that could wake him up, so Wolfram hadn't even stirred the few nights that Yuuri woke up panting for air and his body far more excited than it should have been. He tended to sneak into the bathroom to quickly take care of his… problem, but the images that lingered in his mind after those episodes left him blushing horribly, not to mention confused. Shouldn't he be having these kinds of thoughts about some girl, and not his best friend? Nights like that after he woke up, he usually laid there silently awake in bed for hours after, his heart beating a lot faster than it probably was supposed to be while Wolfram slept on beside him.

He had a strong feeling that Wolfram wouldn't have minded if he knew – correction, he probably would have been thrilled. But… Yuuri was still scared. So he did everything in his power to act normal during the day, kept these new feelings well-hidden, and tried to continue on as he always had.

But now… lately it had been starting to interrupt his daily thoughts as well. And not just in a sexual, lustful way like the dreams. He started thinking about dragging Wolfram out into the rain with him, and pulling him close and kissing him deeply when he complained about getting too wet. Or maybe reading together in the library, which he knew Wolfram liked, surrounded by soft glowing candles and wrapped up together in a giant blanket. Things like that or similar situations kept creeping into his thought patterns, leaving him to look even more distracted than usual lately as he fought back the urges to make them reality.

Although in his confusion, he'd been pushing Wolfram away, and he had a feeling that the young Mazoku was probably taking his reactions the wrong way, and most likely certain that the engagement was nothing but a lost cause.

Yuuri finished scrubbing his hair, lathered thickly with soap, and dove down under the watery depths to rinse it all out again. When he came back up for air, brushing wet bangs out of his face, he lingered for a bit longer. The water soothed him, which wasn't much of a surprise considering it was his element and all, and he didn't want to leave it just yet.

There was one person that knew of his feelings, and only one person – Conrad. It had finally gotten to the point where he had to talk to _someone_ about his dilemma, and Conrad had been his only logical choice. He'd been sworn to complete secrecy, and Yuuri was confident that the word on his thoughts wouldn't get out and become public knowledge before he had the courage to bring the subject up to Wolfram personally. Especially with the treaty being so close and with all the extra people that would be around during the ball…

Actually… that didn't sound like a bad idea at all. Surely Wolfram would be depressed, expecting Yuuri to act the way he usually did and ignore him all night. So really, the best way to handle the situation would be to spend the night with _him_. Dance with Wolfram, talk with him, while still performing his duties as Maou of course…

And then after it was over, perhaps it was finally the right time to ask for an actual wedding date. He wasn't completely sure whether it was the right idea or not just yet, but Wolfram had been waiting for him for a long time. And surely his could live with a few doubts in order to set his fiancé's mind at ease, couldn't he?

Already he could imagine the look of pure joy on Wolfram's face tomorrow night. The prince was so beautiful when he was happy, and that in itself would be worth it. Stretching one last time, Yuuri stood up, let the water drain back into the bath from his wet skin, and stepped out to wrap a soft towel around his torso.

Suddenly he couldn't wait for tomorrow to be almost over with.


	2. Chapter 2

**Beyond the Silence**  
_By Orenda_  
_Fandom:_ Kyou Kara Maou (Yuuri/Wolfram)

A/N: Thanks for all the interest so far! It does help motivate me to write faster. This part has a lot more plot in it than the first.

Chapter 2

* * *

The castle ballroom was a sea of mixed colors, the inhabitants of the room swirling about in dance or engaging in idle conversation with one another. The tone of the event was cheerful enough; the peace treaties had been signed without any complications for once, the dinner prepared by the kitchen staff had been nothing short of exquisite, and by this point in the evening, most visitors and hosts alike wanted nothing more than to enjoy drinks along with the night's festivities.

Despite the warm, uplifting atmosphere, there was at least one occupant to the party who wished not to be there. Wolfram sighed, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed as he watched other couples dancing happily together along with the music. So far the night had been exactly what he had expected, with Yuuri off busy socializing with everyone else and leaving him to fend for himself. The looks he received were either that of pity, or else they contained a flirting sort of gesture, batting their eyelids as they tried to catch his attention. It was easy enough to brush them off, because they held no interest to him. He also managed to avoid most of the political conversations that were going on; he wasn't in the mood for any of it.

The only time he'd allowed himself to relax and have some fun was when Greta had managed to find him, wanting to show her father the emerald green dress that Cheri had gotten made for her just for the occasion. He certainly wasn't one to ever turn his daughter down for anything, and they had enjoyed a few dances together before she disappeared into the crowd, mentioning something about how she and Beatrice had been talking to some foreign boys… Wolfram shook his head; she was starting to grow up far too fast for her own good, but she was very responsible and that kept him from worrying too much.

Maybe he should just consider the evening a lost cause and retire early; it would be easy enough to feign sickness, and surely no one would miss him. But just as he was about to start wandering in hopes of locating one of his brothers to announce his departure, a voice caught him by surprise.

"_There_ you are, Wolf! I've been looking all over for you," Yuuri smiled warmly.

The greeting was a bit unexpected, but Wolfram was careful to cover up his initial reaction by giving Yuuri a raised eyebrow along with a playful smirk. "Oh, have you now? Decided that you've had enough of your loyal subjects hanging all over you, wimp?"

The pout on the young king's face was simply adorable, and Wolfram found himself having to refrain from teasing about it. "It's not like that! It's just that I… I was hoping you wouldn't mind dancing with me for a while?"

Well, this was a surprise. In an attempt to keep from looking itoo/i happy about it, Wolfram's eyes grew cautious. "Are you sure that you want to be seen dancing with the likes of me? People might begin to think that you were actually serious."

Yuuri looked like he was about to get angry for a moment, but dark eyes closed and the emotion was let out in a deep sigh instead, and he held out his hand in invitation. "Wolfram… please? Don't make me have to beg. I _want_ to."

"….As you wish."

Wolfram took the hand and allowed himself to be led out onto the dance floor. On the outside he remained calm, but internally he was shaking like a leaf, heart racing at a thousand beats a minute. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, but something about Yuuri seemed _different_, and he knew that it was out of the ordinary for his fiancé to be so up front with him in public. It was so tempting to just tell himself that Yuuri was just giving him the same treatment as everyone else and be done with it, but somehow he felt like that wasn't the case this time.

Suddenly he wished that he'd consumed more wine earlier, because it might have settled his nerves.

The music started for the next song, so they both bowed before Yuuri wrapped one arm around Wolfram's waist, the other grabbing onto his hand. It was an old song, one that he'd learned the proper dance to when he was much younger, so at least he wouldn't have to concentrate much on the movements. Wolfram wasn't completely sure why, but it seemed as though Yuuri was nervous as well… Maybe he was having second thoughts about doing this.

They were both quiet for the entire first dance as they started to find their rhythm together. But then they remained together for a second dance, and then a third. Wolfram kept giving the other boy suspicious looks the longer they danced without stopping, but Yuuri only shrugged his shoulders innocently, as though he didn't see what the problem was. They must have been quite a sight, both dressed in formal military robes, the blue of Wolfram's jacket blending in with the royal blackness that Yuuri had become known for. It was halfway through the fourth dance, when they were starting to get some interesting looks from the crowd around them, that Wolfram's curiosity in the Maou's sudden change of interest finally got the best of him.

He started off with a casual, "I see those dancing lessons of yours have helped. You're getting much better at this."

Yuuri smiled brightly at him, "Uh, yeah… I've been trying, even though it's not like baseball at all."

Wolfram rolled his eyes in quiet disgust. "Can't you think of anything else besides that game?" He did refrain from calling it stupid, because he'd long since learned that nothing would stop his king from playing it, or watching at the very least. It didn't mean that he had to enjoy it too.

"Of course I can… I'm here with you, aren't I?"

His feet stopped moving on their own against his will, and they came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the waltz.

"What's going on?" he demanded, trying to stay calm and starting to fail. "You're being too nice, so you're obviously up to something."

"But Wolfram, why can't I just…?"

"Tell me _now_, Yuuri. I want to know."

By that point Wolfram was trembling for real, and Yuuri was blushing in complete embarrassment, so he grabbed the prince's hand and dragged him off the dance floor in the direction of the balcony. "Let's go get some air, okay?"

* * *

The slightly cool April breeze blowing through their hair was a welcome change to the stuffy room that was filled with too many bodies inside. Wolfram quickly walked over to the railing and leaned against it, staring up at the not quite full moon that was shining down on them from above. Yuuri hesitated, and then walked up next to him, close enough that their arms were touching.

"This wasn't really the way I'd hoped to do this," Yuuri started after a moment. "I wanted to wait until we were upstairs in bed before telling you, but I guess that's not an option anymore, huh?"

Wolfram remained silent, but he could hear his heat beating in his throat. He didn't trust his voice right then.

Seeing as how he wasn't getting an answer, Yuuri continued. "I know I've been horrible for doing this, and making you wait so long for me. But it's about time that I start acting like a true king and dealing with the things that I'm scared about. And… I think we need to talk about our engagement."

The bottom dropped out of Wolfram's stomach. He should have seen this coming, with the way Yuuri had been trying to be extra nice to him, the way that he'd been avoided much more than usual over the last few weeks. The dark haired boy would be crushing his heart any minute now, telling him that it should have been broken off long ago and he finally couldn't stand to pretend any longer. Mentally Wolfram was already preparing to leave to pack his clothes out of their shared bedchambers…

A hand pressed firmly onto his shoulder, stirring Wolfram out of his thoughts. Yuuri gave him a concerned look, but he brushed it off, concentrating on keeping his voice steady. "Go on, then."

"I… I haven't been able to stop thinking about you lately. At first it was just in my dreams, and now it's all the time. I've been having feelings that I never thought were possible. And I…" Yuuri looked him straight in the eyes, grabbing Wolfram's hand and squeezing it tight. "I want us to plan our wedding together as soon as possible."

The look on Wolfram's face went from absolute shock, to a flash of hopeful joy… and then to pure hurt and anger. He abruptly yanked his hand back, pushed Yuuri away, and took a couple steps backwards.

"H-How dare you… How _dare_ you do this to me here! I do _not_ need your pity, not now or ever!" His voice rose, and he started to turn around, intending to go back inside and move as far away as possible.

But Yuuri reached forward and grabbed onto his arm tightly, and despite his struggles would not let go. "Damn it, Wolfram, it's _not_ pity, I'm not kidding! I thought you'd be happy about this…"

"Oh, isn't it? Then prove it!" He'd already lost his dignity, so Wolfram figured that the best thing to do now was to keep going with it. "If I mean so much to you now, then kiss me! Right here, where any of those people can look out the window and see it. Otherwise I'm sick of your stupid games and the way you constantly toy with me, thinking that I might stand a chance!"

Wolfram felt himself forcefully pressed against the other's warm body, and suddenly a pair of lips locked against his. He was so utterly shocked by the situation that his muscles became slack and he quickly stopped fighting against it.

Yuuri pulled back, just an inch or so, large black eyes staring into green ones. His voice was so faint that Wolfram had to struggle to hear the first word or two. "…I mean it this time, Wolf. I don't know what's going on, or what the right thing to say is, and I'm so sorry that I've hurt you more times than I can imagine, but I-I think I'm starting to fall in love with you. And I'm so scared, but I… Wolfram, say something, please? You look like you're going to cry and that's not what I wanted to do…"

Eyes glistening with a wetness that threatened to spill onto his cheeks, Wolfram took a deep breath to quickly stop them.

"…I'm dreaming, right? This isn't real, and I'll wake up and the ball will be tomorrow…"

"Oh, I really hope not," Yuuri couldn't help but laugh, obviously from built up nervous tension. "I'm not sure I could handle telling you a second time right now…"

At that point, Wolfram decided that he'd had enough of words at the moment, and after wrapping his arms around to return Yuuri's embrace, he took his chances and closed in for another kiss, one that he would actually participate in rather than just stand there numbly. Yuuri whimpered softly, and Wolfram used the distraction to part his lips open, tongue tentatively making its way inside. For the moment while they kissed, the rest of the world faded away, and his brain was overloaded with sensation. He tasted Yuuri for the first time, who seemed to be just as eager to taste back, both feeling rather awkward due to the lack of experience.

Groaning softly, Wolfram pulled away again, struggling to breathe and knowing that he had to stop now before he _couldn't_. He'd never felt so high in his life, his body practically soaring, and he rested his head on Yuuri's shoulder, hugging him tight.

"Are you okay?" Yuuri asked softly, not quite sure what to do with such an emotional Wolfram, but not willing to back off either.

"More than okay," he admitted. "Never been this okay before… I think… I really need something to drink, because my head won't stop spinning."

"Ready to go back in, then? We can probably escape early, since I spent a lot of time talking to our guests when I was looking for you."

Wolfram stood up straight on his own, wiped his eyes and quickly composed himself with a nod. He was holding onto Yuuri's hand tightly, though, a lifeline to reassure to himself that this was real. Yuuri seemed to have sensed the necessity, and didn't try to let go. "We can stay for a bit longer… I think we managed to cause a scene, and it wouldn't hurt to leave on a good note."

"All right, but not too long? I really want to talk to you more alone tonight."

Nodding in agreement, Wolfram started to lead the way back inside, ignoring the fact that he was sweating despite the cool night air that had surrounded them.

It seemed that the majority of the people were enjoying themselves enough not to have really noticed their departure other than a few curious glances. Conrad looked down at their hands as they walked by, still clasped together, and he gave both boys a warm but knowing look. Wolfram stuck his nose up in the air, giving his brother a little "hmph," but he was far too happy to tell him it was none of his business right now, and they continued on without stopping to talk.

A server walked by with a tray that contained a single wine glass left on it, and paused in front of Yuuri, clearly offering it to the Maou. He gracefully accepted it, but paused and handed the glass to Wolfram instead of drinking from it.

"You said you needed this, right? Here."

Wolfram smiled in thanks as the server bowed politely and walked away, probably to collect more empty glasses to return to the kitchen. It seemed to be more of a dessert wine, and it was sweet like honey and fruity on Wolfram's tongue as he sipped from it. Their hands finally parted, but Yuuri stayed right next to him as they were approached by a couple of women who seemed eager to be seen talking to their king. Yuuri was polite and kept up the meaningless conversation while Wolfram slowly emptied his glass, nerves relaxing as he told himself over and over again that tonight wasn't just his imagination. Soon enough he'd be upstairs with Yuuri in his arms, and they'd be talking, and maybe if he was lucky they could continue with what he couldn't do on the balcony, and…

Hmm… that was strange. His head suddenly felt fuzzy. Surely one glass wasn't enough to affect his senses that much? Blinking a few times, he noticed that the girls had moved on, and Yuuri was looking at him curiously. How long had he been standing there staring into nothing, anyways?

"I… don't feel so well," he admitted after a moment, obviously embarrassed. "Can we… go sit down, please?"

Yuuri's eyes were wide. "Wolf, you look really pale…"

He felt a warm arm wrap around his shoulders as he realized that he was trembling violently, and he had no idea why. Yuuri was talking to him, but he could no longer understand the words. He heard the faint sound of glass breaking as his fingers accidentally dropped the mostly empty glass still in his hand, but he couldn't quite stop it. His throat started to burn, as though his mouth was on fire, and all at once it started to _hurt_ like his insides were being torn apart.

Apparently he'd fallen to the floor, but he didn't remember how he got there. And suddenly he was hit with a strong urge to vomit, but nothing happened besides a lurching wave of nausea. The next thing he knew he was coughing violently, the pain in his throat too strong for him to even think about being embarrassed anymore at this point. Yuuri was shouting, probably for Gisela, because he felt sticky blood dripping through his fingers as he coughed, and his brain was telling him this was far from a good sign.

The last thing he remembered was Conrad scooping him up into his arms and holding him tightly into his chest before everything finally went black.


	3. Chapter 3

**Beyond the Silence**  
_By Orenda_  
_Fandom:_ Kyou Kara Maou (Yuuri/Wolfram)

Chapter 3

A/N: Shorter this time, just a little. But thank you so much for all the reviews. This story has such a long way to go...

* * *

Gwendal sighed to himself, leaning forward to rest his head on his hand against the wooden desk. His head had been pounding for hours, but he couldn't get himself to stop working just yet. There was far too much to be done, and his mind wouldn't settle down to relax even if he wanted to. He felt the pressure weighing down on him with a mixture of guilt and worry and responsibility for his family and their kingdom.

For over two days, his youngest brother had been unconscious, battling with a poison that no one had ever dealt with in Shin Makoku. They hadn't even been sure if Wolfram was going to make it for the first few hours, having a fever at dangerous levels and he could barely breathe, but he'd pulled through and stabilized after that. It seemed that most of the damage was done internally, especially around his throat. Gisela suspected that he'd have a hard time swallowing for a few days, even with the healing, but they wouldn't know how bad it was until he woke up. Gwendal was promised that he'd receive word the instant something changed, and since there really wasn't much he could do besides standing around waiting, he'd placed all his efforts into the new situation they had found themselves in.

It appeared that Wolfram had never been the target in the first place, but rather the young Maou. Investigations had discovered that the server in question who had brought the tainted glass was nowhere to be found. None of the staff members had been reported missing, so it was assumed to be an outsider in disguise. It bothered Gwendal that someone had managed to break their defenses unnoticed, and he refused to take the chance on it occurring a second time. Security had been more than doubled in certain areas, and all food and drink was now thoroughly inspected before it was brought anywhere near the royal chambers. A second team was currently out investigating the town, and Yozak was attempting to track down the perpetrator on his own, but so far there hadn't been much luck. They had no plans on giving up, though.

On top of all that, there had been guests to attend to, although Lord Von Christ had quickly stepped into that role with practiced smooth words and reassurances. Most were kept in the dark about the details of what happened, as they were determined not to cause a panic or doubts in the treaty that had just been signed. A few still lingered now, but most had returned back to their country as planned, and all of them should be gone by the next sunset. Gwendal had never been all that fond of sweet-talking to foreign diplomats anyways, so he was quite grateful that Gunter could become completely serious when necessary and reminded them how he'd achieved such a position as royal advisor.

As for the king himself… Yuuri was taking the whole thing rather hard. They could tell that he blamed himself for Wolfram's condition, even though he was hardly at fault. Staying by his bedside for every moment that he could get away with, he only left when situations needed his personal attention. Gwendal had to admit that he was extremely proud of the fact that he didn't shut down and lock himself away, a testimony of how much he had grown over the last five years. He did, however, ask that all paperwork be brought to him so he could work quietly and still keep an eye on Wolfram, and most meetings involving the investigation were held in the room right next door. Even then, Yuuri tended to keep staring at the doorway, waiting to see if something changed.

Deciding that he probably wasn't going to get any more work done for now, Gwendal stacked up his papers and organized them neatly. His fingers twitched, wanting to stay busy as he gazed out the window for a moment. He'd never been particularly close to Wolfram in the same way Conrad had, and he wasn't good at expressing his feelings towards his little brother. But he did love him, and he really had been just as worried as everyone else. It was just better that he got done what needed to be, because he was the strong one, the oldest, the one the others fell back on… right?

Well, there was one thing left to be done still. Opening a desk drawer, he pulled out a ball of yarn and a pair of needles, leaned back against his chair, and quickly began to knit. For as long as he could remember, every time that Wolfram had gotten sick or injured, he had always made him a present, be it a blanket or a toy or something along those lines to cheer him up. He'd always gotten a warm smile for his efforts, even if Wolfram didn't understand what it was and Gwendal had to explain it (Just because his bear happened to have a pig snout didn't mean that it wasn't a bear). Wolfram would probably be expecting it after he woke up, and he didn't want to disappoint.

Gwendal let his thoughts disappear for the time being, shifting on to the next row and focusing only on the pattern of the stitches. If only the rest of their problems were so easy to solve.

* * *

The first thing Wolfram became aware of was the fact that the sun was far too bright. He tried to shut his eyes and block it out, only nothing was happening. And then somewhere his mind must have figured out that the problem was that they were already closed. That was bothersome.

"Yuuri, close the curtains," he tried to say… only that didn't seem to work either, and the words only came out inside his head. In fact, it rather _hurt_ to try and talk, and nothing happened except for a gasp of air as he tried to make his throat stop burning. He heard someone speaking to him, but he couldn't identify the voice. Then he felt the familiar warmth of maryoku flooding through his senses, making the pain go away, and his muscles relaxed along with it. He drifted back into sleep for a while.

The next time he woke up, his head was much clearer, and after a moment or two he reluctantly opened his eyes. It took a little time to adjust, and he had to resist the urge to just go back to sleep. He blinked, realizing he was wrapped up in warm blankets and extra soft pillows, and he had no memory of how he'd gotten there. He started to sit up, but decided that he didn't have quite enough energy yet and soon gave up the effort.

"Wolfram, you're awake!"

His attention was caught by a very relieved pair of dark eyes as Yuuri climbed up on the bed, lying down next to him. Wolfram tried to say his name… but no sound came out. He winced a little, but the pain wasn't anywhere near as bad as the last time, so he begrudgingly reached out to grab Yuuri's hand instead, trying not to look upset by it.

Apparently that wasn't enough for his fiancé, because in the next moment Yuuri was hugging him carefully, tears falling down his face.

"You probably shouldn't try to talk, because Gisela said it was pretty bad… Oh, Wolfram, I'm so sorry! If I'd known I never would have given it to you, and I would have taken your place in an instant! We thought that… I thought that you…"

Wolfram wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but he held Yuuri close to him, brushed a hand through his hair and found himself grateful for the close contact anyways. Yuuri had never been this direct before, except for out on the balcony when they had…

His eyes grew wide as memories came rushing back. The ball, the dancing together, their kiss, and then they had gone back inside, where he'd… done something. That part was still fuzzy in his mind. Had he been attacked? He didn't feel injured though, just completely drained. He did have that one drink, but that was… oh.

Having a fairly good guess on what happened, he leaned closer and kissed Yuuri's forehead, and the pout he gave the other boy seemed to say, "You shouldn't have been so worried, wimp." But at this point he didn't really believe it. Yuuri laughed upon seeing it, kissing his nose in return and quickly calmed down again.

They stayed together for another minute or two before Yuuri seemed to realize he'd forgotten something. "Oh! I'm being stupid… One second."

He crawled off the bed, walked over and opened the door, talking to a guard that was posted outside before coming back, quickly curling up with the blond again. "Sorry, I told everyone I'd spread the word when you woke up… You've missed three days now."

Three days? Wolfram tried to speak again, ignoring the pain, and started to grow angry when it didn't work. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he make any sound at all? Yuuri tried to calm him down, but that just made it worse as he tried yet again. By the time a tired-looking Gisela entered the room a few minutes later, Wolfram was trembling hard, and the only thing keeping him from losing it altogether was Yuuri's hold on him.

Something was very wrong… and he couldn't even tell anyone about it.

* * *

Gwendal heard another knock on his office door, where he'd spent much of his time since yesterday. He'd already been told of the fact that his brother was conscious again a few hours earlier, and for the most part had looked well, so Gwendal had spent the afternoon doubling his efforts to finish his knitting project; the only problem was that he kept getting interrupted for one reason or another.

He barely glanced up at the intruding sound, continuing to move the stitches over onto his right needle. "Enter."

This time, his interruption seemed to be in the form of his other brother. Giving Conrad a raised eyebrow, he waited.

"They finally finished the tests with Wolfram," he announced softly, sitting down in a chair facing the desk. "It seems that the poison damaged his vocal chords, so he can no longer speak."

"…Guess that means that it'll be quieter around here." Not that Gwendal meant anything bad by saying that; in fact, Wolfram's tantrums had drastically reduced in number, even though the young prince still had his bad days. He sighed before continuing. "Estimates on how long?"

"Gisela guesses a couple weeks at the least, most likely a few months. You can ask her to explain, but she mentioned some sort of psychological reaction even after the physical damage is healed… Just don't try telling Wolfram that. He's taking the news rather hard. And there is a slim chance that his voice might never return."

Gwendal took in all the information quietly, needles clinking away as he processed it. "So I'm guessing that you're here partially to discuss his military status, since you know as well as I that in case this conflict were to trigger a war that he would not be allowed to lead his troops in such a condition."

"He's going to be disappointed. And more frustrated than he already is." Conrad watched as his brother's fingers continued to work. He didn't bother to ask who the soon-to-be toy belonged to, since he already knew.

"Better that than having him doing something stupid and getting killed," he replied. "He can be given duties in the castle that will let him stay with His Majesty, perhaps keep him focused on their wedding plans."

All of the "inner counsel" knew the basic details of what had happened between them thanks to Yuuri's very reluctant explanation, but the announcement had not yet been made public knowledge; it probably wasn't going to stay that way much longer.

"Are you going to tell him that when you visit?"

A few more clicks, and then soon Gwendal was binding off the last few remaining stitches. There… All that was left was to add some stuffing and to sew it up. As for Conrad's question, he answered with an affirmative grunt. "Soon, yes."

"Wolfram and His Majesty were both asleep when I left, so I'd suggest after dinner. …Any word from Yozak?" Conrad glanced out the window to where the pigeons tended to land at.

"Nothing yet. Most likely there will be another report tomorrow. Whoever it was hid their tracks well, apparently."

Standing up, Conrad gave his brother one last sad smile before turning to leave. "Do you really think that this will lead to war?"

Gwendal sighed in response, about as honest as he could be right now. "We can't leave ourselves open for any more attacks, be it personal or against an entire village. But… for Yuuri's sake, I hope not."


	4. Chapter 4

**Beyond the Silence**  
_By Orenda_  
_Fandom:_ Kyou Kara Maou (Yuuri/Wolfram)

A/N: Sorry for the lag between updates. My writing has slowed down a little of late, but I'm still working on this story. Hopefully plan to get another few scenes done tonight before bed.

And thanks again for the reviews. Even all the alerts that don't say anything still mean a lot. So enjoy.

Chapter 4

* * *

One of the very last things that Yuuri was in the mood for was dealing with any more meetings. Over the last five days since the ball, if he wasn't eating or bathing or staying with Wolfram, chances were much more than likely that he was dragged into yet another gathering with his advisors, going over plans and rehashing out the same information over and over again as to what happened that day. The whole thing made his head hurt, and he wanted it over and done with. But considering what they did to Wolfram, he had no plans on letting whoever it was get away with it either.

At the moment, he really had no excuses to not attend the current meeting. Wolfram was sound asleep and hadn't been in the mood for company the last time Yuuri had checked; he'd been sleeping a lot after he'd finally regained consciousness, which Gisela said was from the medicine that went along with the healing, and in another day or two he wouldn't be quite so exhausted.

It was the blond's temperament that he worried about, though. He'd been upset enough waking up to find that his voice was lost, but he'd grown angry and downright depressed when Gwendal came in two nights ago and had taken away all of his formal duties. Yuuri had kept him from doing anything stupid like breaking anything, but Wolfram just hadn't been the same since then. He was worried, but considering how much his fiancé was going through, Yuuri wasn't going to push him right now. That didn't mean that he would stop trying to make up for all the lost time they could have spent together for the last five years if he hadn't been so stubborn himself, but he wanted Wolfram to have as much peaceful rest as he could get.

Now that the youngest prince was out of danger, the meetings had been brought back into his usual office. So Yuuri leaned against the table in front of him, rubbing at his eyes as he sighed softly and glanced back up at the others present in the room.

"Gunter… Go over this with me one more time? Hillesheim and Wiesloch are the two countries that signed the peace treaty. Why would someone from there attack us that same night?"

The man addressed quickly pushed aside some long, silver strands of hair that had gotten in his way before unrolling a map, spreading it out across the table where Yuuri could easily see it.

"We don't think it was any of the representatives from those countries, Your Majesty. But it could be a rebel who is against the idea of having an alliance with the Mazoku, someone that the royal families are not aware of."

"Or it could be one of the surrounding countries trying to draw attention away from themselves," Gwendal cut in.

"Right." Gunter continued, pointing to an area to the far southwest of Shin Makoku. "Now see, Hillesheim is here. Wiesloch is to the south of that, and both countries have had occasional problems against Dai Shimaron for hundreds of years now, which is why they wanted to join our forces after hearing so many positive things about our growing alliance."

Yuuri nodded in understanding before Gunter resumed the explanation. "But there is a country here, in-between Hillesheim and Dai Shimaron, which is called Kassel. It has always been neutral territory, refusing to take any sides. It's surrounded halfway by water, half by land, and its largest city, Selm, is the second largest trading market at the moment. It's said that you can buy just about anything there, legal or otherwise, and it would be the perfect place to find a poison such as the one the intruder used."

"Yozak sent word last night," Gwendal nodded in verification, "and he has a lead that points to that city, so he's currently investigating it."

"But that means that it could be anyone," Yuuri frowned at the map. "Lots of people go there, right? They could be from any country…"

"That's right," Gwendal confirmed. "Which is why Yozak's job is to figure out where they came from and follow the trail. And if he needs it, we'll provide backup." Seeing the way Yuuri's eyes lit up, he added, "And for your own safety and to reassure the people here, you will not be the one going."

The one man who hadn't spoken yet, namely Conrad, had to hold back a laugh at the look on the Maou's face after that. There were still times that they were reminded that Yuuri was very young for a king, and it was usually when Gwendal tried to talk down on him.

"I know that," Yuuri frowned. "Besides… if I went, then Wolfram would insist on coming, and I don't want anything else to happen."

He watched as three pairs of eyes exchanged looks, and Yuuri suddenly felt as though he was being left out on something.

Conrad was the one to break the silence finally, smiling warmly at him. "Your Majesty..."

"Conrad, don't make me remind you…"

"Yuuri," he corrected himself. "Perhaps now would be a really good time to start organizing the wedding."

The demon king blinked in surprise, followed by a blush. "So soon? But Wolfram's still getting better, and I have to tell my parents, and I-I…"

"That's exactly why it's a good idea," Gunter nodded. "It will give the people something to celebrate, and it will make you look like a stronger king, not letting our unknown opponents think you're hiding in fear. Oh, Your Majesty, it will be so beautiful…! We'll have to make invitations, and start to arrange for the proper rituals, and…"

By the time Yuuri could breathe again after being half-tackled into a hug, he didn't think he'd have much choice. "Okay! Okay, Gunter! But shouldn't we ask Wolfram first?"

"You can ask, but I believe he'll agree as well," Gwendal started to roll up the maps that were currently forgotten on the table, knowing that no further plans would get done for now. "And we'll have at least twice as much security in case anyone plans on a repeat performance."

Yuuri really didn't like the sound of that, but the most he could do was nod and hope things didn't have to come down to that.

* * *

A… wedding. With another guy. And Yuuri was really going to go through with it, maybe even be a little happy about it. His fifteen year old self would have been sprinting to get away from the whole thing as fast as possible. And really… the impulse was still there a little. If he thought about it too hard, it still felt unnatural to him. But now that'd he'd started to come to terms with his feelings, and considering that everyone else in the castle that knew so far was all for it, it'd be more than a little bad to turn back down because he was somewhat scared. Some king he would be, if that were the case.

Wolfram had seemed happy enough when Yuuri has asked him. He'd even smiled for the first time since he'd regained consciousness, which had reassured him into thinking that perhaps this would be a good idea, after all. But the blond had seemed tired still, even after sleeping all morning, so Yuuri decided to give him a bit more peace while he went to personally deliver the news to another very important person in his life: his daughter.

Greta had been out in the gardens, playing before tea time. Not that she really played in the same way as when she was younger. Now she focused more on things like gardening and writing poetry. And Yuuri had thought he'd seen her reading some romantic love story at some point, like the ones he knew Wolfram liked to read on occasion, although he couldn't be certain.

Why did children have to grow up so fast, anyways?

"Yuuri!"

The younger girl seemed to have spotted his approach, and she dropped her sketchbook and stood up to greet her father. Yuuri had to admit Greta was quite talented in a lot of areas, and she'd seemed to pick up on many of the castle members' hobbies, from Wolfram's love of art to Gwendal's knitting and helping with Anissina's strange inventions (although he seriously hoped his daughter wouldn't consider making her own). She was also rather good at horseback now, and she'd even convinced a few of the men to help teach her a little sword work; only for defensive purposes, of course, since a princess had to be careful. And Wolfram and his brothers had all agreed that it would never be an issue for her to see anything more serious. She'd pouted a little, but took the offer anyways, convinced that maybe when she was older she could get them to teach her more.

"Hi, Greta!" Yuuri smiled warmly as she embraced him tightly. She'd grown a few inches, and the new height made hugging her a little bit easier, if a bit sadder that she was changing so fast.

She cut him off before he could say anything else. "Is Papa Wolfram okay still? They let me visit yesterday for a while, but he was so tired that he wasn't awake much."

Yuuri stepped back a little to look at her more directly, motioning for her to come and sit with him against the tree she'd been under. "Ahh… He's still the same, really. But Gisela said not to worry and he'll have a lot more energy in a few days. So we'll just trust her, right? But actually, it's Wolfram that I wanted to talk to you about."

Greta nodded, satisfied not to be worried if Yuuri wasn't; after all, no one knew her father better than her other father, right? But the last part made her curious. "Oh really? Did something else happen?"

"Eheh, well, sort of. Or rather it's going to happen. But…" How did one go about explaining to your daughter that you were going to tie the knot with a boy you'd proposed to on accident years ago when he'd insulted your mother? The image made Yuuri smile a little despite himself; Wolfram had been such a horrible brat back then, and it was amazing to think about how much had changed in his time here ruling the country. The blond still had his moments, of course, but Yuuri had been getting used to them, and had learned quite a few ways of calming down Wolfram's temper before it got too bad.

Of course this new, silent Wolfram he was still getting used to.

Greta was looking at him expectantly, so Yuuri continued. "Ahh… What would you think about the idea of… er, well… Wolfram and I getting married?"

The young girl's eyes lit up, and suddenly she was smiling, full of excitement. "Really? You're finally going to? It's about time we became an official family!"

Yuuri laughed in embarrassment, rubbing the back of his head. "Eheh, you mean you're not surprised?"

He received a look that said "you've got to be kidding me" in return. "No… everyone just said that it would take a while, that's all. I'll bet Papa Wolfram is happy!"

Yuuri nodded, returning his daughter's second hug since he'd came out here. It was nice, especially because he didn't get them as often anymore now that she was getting older. "He looked happy enough. I think he'll be more excited about it once he feels better."

"Then we should work really hard on making him feel better soon, right? Maybe if he's happier, his voice will come back sooner."

Despite the fact that they weren't related by blood, it had seemed that his daughter had inherited much of the Maou's never-ending optimism. It's probably why so many of the castle's inhabitants adored her.

"You know, Greta, maybe you're right. We'll have to do our best to make that happen."

"Mmhmm! So Yuuri, which one of you will get to wear the dress?"

"Eeeehh?"

* * *

"Wolfram? Are you awake yet?"

The blond prince gave a curious look in the direction of the door. Instead of the voice of his fiancé that he'd been expecting, it was definitely someone with feminine features instead. It wasn't Gisela, because she would have came in without asking first. He couldn't really answer in a yes or no way, so he simply watched as the door opened to reveal the intruder on his nap. Not that he'd been asleep at the moment anyways, but that wasn't exactly the point.

Even though his mother's appearance usually meant a mixture of things, Wolfram was actually a bit relieved that it wasn't his suddenly strangely overprotective fiancé. So he sat up a little and decided not to ignore her, a habit he'd started to get into when it came to so many visitors over the last couple days. He didn't want their pity or anything like that.

Cheri smiled as she sat down on the edge of the bed next to him, reaching up to run a hand over Wolfram's forehead and brush back his bangs. It was something she used to do on occasion when he was little and troubled or stressed by something or not feeling well. The gesture was a bit comforting, even now.

"I just heard the great news… the wedding is in three weeks, huh? Oh, Wolf, that's so wonderful! I still can't believe my youngest baby is the first to find someone special. Although I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, with the way Gwen is always caught up in his work…"

So they'd be making the announcement soon? Not that Wolfram was all that surprised with the way they'd been talking after Yuuri had come in after that meeting to talk about it. Wolfram had been uncertain at first, but politically it idid/i make sense. It would do nothing but benefit the kingdom, and Yuuri seemed willing to go along with it. And really, the main reason he didn't think Yuuri was offering the proposal to him out of any other reason than wanting to was the words he'd said that night before all this had happened. He'd given his consent with a smile and a nod, and then young Maou had dashed off, suddenly seeming to be worried about a million different things. But not before he'd offered Wolfram another kiss, leaving him stunned for a moment before relaxing back into the bedding.

It was nice to be away from Yuuri for a bit, though. As much as he loved the attention, the being constantly fretted over from his fiancé's guilt over what happened was getting to be a bit much. Especially because it was very hard to tell Yuuri to relax when he couldn't even say anything.

Being reminded once again of how unfair this whole situation was made Wolfram sigh inwardly. But he'd be polite for his mother.

She hugged him, and apparently decided that she would fill the silence in his inability to do so; not that she wouldn't have taken over the whole conversation even if he could have protested.

"You'll let me design your clothes, yes? You're going to look so wonderful, and all the maidens in country will be jealous of how beautiful everything will be! Of course as soon as you're rested, you can help out a lot with that. You do want to, right? I'm sure His Majesty Yuuri can be helpful too, and maybe we can tie in some wedding traditions from Earth. I'll bet you're so excited. And I'm so very proud of you!"

Wolfram just kind of sat there with a slightly stunned look, not sure what to say… or how to express what he would have said.

Cheri must have caught on to his unsure emotions, and became a bit more serious, still gently playing with his hair. "And I'm sure you're scared, too, about a lot of things. I know I was very nervous when I was married the first time. It's one of your most important days ever… And I know you're upset about your voice. But things will work out eventually. You and your brothers have always been lucky that way, you know. Even if I haven't always been there for you…"

Wolfram was lulled a bit into relaxing, mostly by the former queen's touch and the tone of her voice rather than the actual words themselves. He was trying not to be too upset, but surely no one understood how much he was being asked to give up. Being active in the military decisions was something he'd spent so many years working hard for, and now it was all gone. He hadn't even been invited to sit in on the discussions of progress for finding the man who'd done this to him, and that was the most depressing of all. Perhaps in a few days he could appeal to Gwendal somehow, when he wasn't fighting to stay awake more often than not…

His eyes drifted closed while his mother was still talking, but he kept listening for a while. Gisela had been giving him medicine in regular doses, and he figured he still had a bit of time before the next one; so why was he tired already?

"Oh, I wonder what Yuuri's parents will look like? I know you've seen them before, but I can't wait to talk to his mother. I'm sure they're both charming, considering how Yuuri and Shori look. But of course not as cute as my Wolf. I guess he'll be going back to Earth sometime soon to get them…"

That part Wolfram hadn't thought about… it meant that his fiancé would disappear again, even if only for a day or two. He frowned a little, more from the realization that he'd be alone for a while than anything else. Not that he minded Yuuri visiting his family, but he wouldn't be going with him…

His mother was still talking, but he didn't remember the words. Nor did he quite remember the point where time had stopped and he'd gone back to sleep. He could even only vaguely recall when Gisela had came in and forced him to partially wake up enough to give him some medicine, even though swallowing was absolute torture. He even struggled with something as simple as water, which he remembered had sent him into a painful coughing fit a couple of times in the last couple days. He'd been promised that should get better soon.

The next thing he knew it was the middle of the night, and in place of Cheri, Yuuri was curled up resting next to him. No longer having the desire to sleep, he stared up at the ceiling quietly, lost in his own thoughts. It was so hard to believe how very fast his life had been drastically altered, and despite the positive things, he wasn't entirely sure if he could handle it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Beyond the Silence**  
_By Orenda_  
_Fandom:_ Kyou Kara Maou (Yuuri/Wolfram)

A/N: Due to RL issues, I had to take a bit of a break on this story. But I'm finally starting to write again and work has settled down. So for your patience, I decided to put up the next chapter.

Chapter 5

* * *

The capital city of Shin Makoku was in general a lively place. With the large concentrated population, it was easy to blend in with the crowd. Unless you were the Maou himself, of course, or one of those close to him; their faces were so well known by now that not even some of the more elaborate disguises would work. Otherwise, however, there were many dark alleyways and hiding places that the royal guards couldn't always keep an eye on, and strange things could occasionally occur unnoticed. It was still, thankfully for the most part, a peaceful city, especially compared to other countries. That was most likely from Yuuri's influence over the citizens over the years.

But sometimes…

The sun had just finished sinking beyond the horizon, plunging the city into darkness, when a figure in dark red robes entered a strangely quiet tavern and inn, coming from the shadows of the night. At first glance, there was no one around. If the place did have any guests, they'd already retired back to their rooms for the night. The manager of the place, working on cleaning up behind the bar, didn't so much as blink as the strange figure walked past to a back room, closing a door behind him. It was as though some other force was helping him remain unseen.

Another figure, dressed in a similar red cloak, was already behind the door waiting for him. He glanced up, but continued writing something down on a parchment at the table he was sitting at. There was only the light of a single candle on the side of the room, but neither seemed to have any problems seeing.

"So you have word to report back to Selm?"

"Yes… the rumors are true. The boy has lost his words. And he'll be marrying the Maou by the end of the month."

"Good… I'm sure Lord Keiran will be pleased, even with the change in plans. I will be leaving myself tonight to make sure things aren't interrupted."

The one that remained standing seemed to be looking over at the other's writing. "Have I been sent any new orders?"

The other man nodded. "You're to remain here, and find yourself a new position in the castle. The wedding will have tighter security than the ball, and so we'll need to know where the weaknesses lie. Lord Keiran knows he won't be disappointed in you."

"Of course not. After all, the lord said himself that it worked out better this way. With the way he's so strong in fire majutsu, the poison's other effects will be that much more potent. I believe the houjutsu is already draining most of his energy."

"Yes… a fortunate accident, for once. If at all possible, get as close as you can to him. And send word when the nightmares begin."

"Very well. And what of the one tracking us?" The man pulled his hood up closer to his face as he prepared himself for leaving.

"Don't worry about him. We've been setting up a trap for some time now. He should be falling right into our hands quite soon."

There was no need for farewells, and the man disappeared back out into the streets quickly, unseen as though he'd never existed at all.

* * *

Yuuri would be travelling to Earth soon, to tell his family of the wedding and bring them back with him. But the change in time between the two worlds still existed, and even if he was only gone for a day, several would pass by in Shin Makoku. And well… it was bad enough that he'd be leaving the others to continue on with the investigation in his absence, but he didn't want to leave Wolfram alone for that long while he was still recovering and obviously very depressed.

He doubted that he had much choice, but the young Maou decided that perhaps he should discuss his concerns with the other person who had been spending as much time with the blond prince as he had lately. Gisela always did seem to be knowledgeable when it came to such things, and she'd been doing her very best to improve his physical health.

The healer was just leaving her personal chambers as Yuuri caught sight of her from down the hallway. He waved, calling out to catch her attention. "Gisela!"

She smiled as she noticed him, and they met up halfway down the hallway. "Your Majesty, did you need to see me?"

"Actually," Yuuri began, "I was kind of hoping that you might be able to answer a question about Wolfram."

Gisela's smile turned sad, and she motioned for Yuuri to walk with her down the hall. "I'm sorry. I've been trying all I can think of to help him get his voice back, but his case is something that I've never seen before in all of my time here. I've tried various solutions that have worked in somewhat similar situations, and I plan to go to the library and study to see if there's something that I might have missed."

Yuuri waved his hand to silence her before she could continue. "Please don't worry! I'm sure you've done more than everything you possibly can."

She seemed to relax a little, something that Yuuri was good at doing for the most part. "His will is very strong, you know. Even when he was younger, he was always determined that everything should go the way he wanted it to. He'll work his way through this too, even if it takes some time."

He smiled in return, nodding slightly. "I'm sure. I'm just… worried about being gone for so long. But my mom would probably kill me if got married without telling her first. And I'd take him with me, but Wolfram seems more comfortable here. I want to figure out a way to cheer him up."

"Your Majesty… Yuuri," she emphasized his first name, knowing that even now he still preferred it. "There's a lot of people here who will make sure he's alright without you. And if you're really concerned… perhaps you should bring him back something from Earth? That way he'll know you were thinking of him when you were gone."

A wedding present, maybe? Yuuri blushed a little as various ideas popped into his head at the thought. But he quickly cleared it. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Gisela, you'll take care of him too, right?"

"Of course." There was no hesitation in her nod.

They reached the end of the hallway, and their feet came to a stop where it split off into two separate directions. Yuuri sighed softly. "Do you think his voice will come back? Not that it matters to me, even if it's really weird to see him so quiet. But I think it matters to him."

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "And in the end, it might come down to a battle in his own head, because some of the damage is psychological. He'll mentally remember the pain from trying to talk, and that's hard to get over. But we'll all do our best to help. If you'll excuse me, I need to do some research. I'm wondering if he's in need of an energy boost, with as much as he's been resting…"

"Er, sure. Thank you, Gisela." Yuuri didn't feel too much better about it, but as long as he was going to be leaving, it was nice to know that his fiancé was definitely in good hands.

* * *

"That's all for now. Dismissed."

Conrad turned away as the soldiers all relaxed and started chattering amongst themselves, most relieved to have the intense training session over with. Many of them had been learning under Wolfram, who had more recently taken over a fair amount of the teaching himself. It had been a year or two since Conrad had done much of it personally, and he felt just a little out of place, his teaching skills in particular slightly out of practice. But it didn't look like Wolfram would be coming back any time soon, and they'd needed him as a temporary replacement until they deemed someone else qualified enough to take over.

Hopefully not permanently, though. There was still hope that Wolfram would be able to return to his duties sooner rather than later.

Speaking of his little brother, Conrad's eyes widened in surprise as he looked out over the gardens to see Wolfram outside. It was the first time that the blond had left his bedroom chambers since the ball, and it was a bit of relief to see him up and about and seeking the fresh air. Perhaps he should go check on him.

Wolfram still looked like he was a little tired, but at the moment he was very much awake and alert to his surroundings. He'd found a spot next to the flowerbeds, a place where some of the spring flowers were beginning to wilt, but also where the summer buds were just starting to get ready to open up. A crown of still blooming yellow blossoms adorned his head, a gesture obviously left by Greta before she'd had to go to lessons, and a knitted stuffed cat was carefully tucked up against his chest, mostly likely the same one he'd seen Gwendal working on. Wolfram was currently busy focusing on drawing something, most likely the flowers judging by the way his concentration seemed to keep going to them before he looked back down to the lines he was adding.

Overall, he looked rather adorable. Not that Conrad would say that out loud to his brother. Then again, the attack he might get for saying such a thing might be worth it to see him looking lively again.

Conrad approached slowly, so as not to startle him. But Wolfram must have noticed anyways, because green eyes looked up at him before he'd had the chance to greet him aloud. He considered asking if he was feeling alright, but decided against it; Wolfram was probably more than tired of being asked that question by various people.

"Not painting today?" The elder of the two chose to sit down as well, glancing over curiously at the other's creation.

Wolfram shook his head quickly, frowned for a moment, then switched to a different parchment. Conrad was confused briefly until he realized that words were being written down. A clever way to get past the new communication barrier, he supposed.

_Too messy._ Wolfram showed him the page, and then after a moment of hesitation, turned back to his original drawing to share his half-finished array of flowers.

"You're improving quite a bit," Conrad smiled warmly at him. "Is that for Yuuri?"

Wolfram blushed a little, but nodded anyways. Even without words, he seemed to be particularly good at getting his emotions across, if not the exact details.

"I'm sure he'll love it. You should give it to him as a wedding present."

Frowning, Wolfram quickly turned back to scribble down more words to show his brother. _I can do better, but maybe._

Conrad couldn't help but laugh. "You know that Yuuri will enjoy anything that you give him. But I understand if you want it to be special, right?"

Wolfram nodded again, and just as Conrad was about to continue they were interrupted by one of the soldiers approaching. "E-Excuse me, Lord Weller. But there's been a message for you, and you're to report to Lord von Voltaire immediately."

"So Gwendal must have heard back from Yozak," he spoke aloud for Wolfram's benefit, and noticed as the blond instantly became interested and more alert. He felt bad for having to help personally keep his brother out of the loop when he so desperately wanted to be involved.

"Thank you," Conrad dismissed the soldier, who seemed happy for the chance to leave.

"Well, Wolfram… Since you're feeling better, would you like to come with me and see if you can listen in? I'm sure you won't be needed directly for any wedding plans for today."

His brother nodded very enthusiastically, already putting his drawing materials away. However, something caught Conrad's eye, and he reached over to get a closer look at the page before it was gone. A strange symbol appeared there, and he gave Wolfram a curious glance. "What is that?"

It wasn't anything he'd ever seen before. It appeared to be a circle, in which three slightly curvy parallel lines were placed inside of it. The lines were drawn thickly, dark, and Wolfram had used red ink on it. Conrad wasn't sure what it was, but it seemed to be oddly important somehow, like something you know is at the back of your mind and yet can't quite remember.

Wolfram reluctantly took the time to scribble his thoughts down once more, most likely only to humor him in hopes of getting what he wanted.

_I saw it in a dream last night, that's all._

"I see. Come on, then. Maybe it'll work if we both give our brother those puppy-eyes that you've managed to teach Greta to use so well."

Perhaps he'd think on it later, but dreams were the least of their concerns for the moment when so much else was going on.

* * *

The neutral country of Kassel was actually a quiet and peaceful country outside of its large trading city. The land was used for a lot of farming, as much of the area was, but it also had its various share of religious temples, those who had tried to stay out of the general conflict of humans against the Mazoku. The people, whether they belonged to various groups or not, were very friendly to just about anyone, although they also tended to be a bit cautious. No one wanted to fight, and many probably had no clue how to.

In general, it was land that Yozak actually liked travelling through, since in some ways it reminded him of Shin Makoku. He was certain that the leaders would definitely get along with Yuuri, should they ever manage to persuade them to consider signing peace treaties as well. But that would have to be a goal for a later date, should the others ever decide to pursue it. After all, he just followed orders.

Which, that was the only reason he was here, of course, so he couldn't really enjoy the scenery at his leisure. Although considering the fact that whoever had tried to poison the king was hiding somewhere here, he planned on taking a bit of satisfaction from finally hunting them down.

The trail did lead into the city, however, probably one of the darkest places in the country considering some of the things that went on in the black markets. It was also probably one of the reasons the place might never pick sides, since the attraction of so many people helped keep it's otherwise not so great economy running.

There were whispers Yozak had managed to catch, of a small group in red cloaks that had recently came back from Shin Makoku. Several different disguises and a few days of information gathering had led him to a smaller, less populated area, to a tiny shop without a name. The locals seemed to call it The Crimson Moon, because of the man running it. He'd asked around, but no one seemed to know anything in more detail or why it had such a name. He was positive it was connected, though. He'd sent word to the castle that he was going in to investigate today.

It was late evening before the shop opened, a strange and slightly eerie light coming from inside that could be seen through the cracks of the darkened curtain that was being used instead of a normal door. Yozak stepped through without hesitation, convinced that he'd be ready to deal with whatever was inside. For once he wasn't wearing a disguise, hoping it would help lead him to further answers. At first glance, the small shop appeared to be deserted. Or at the very least, the owner was farther within the building.

"Yo," he called out casually. "Are you open? I have some business with the owner of this place." There were various trinkets on display, many that probably contained houjutsu in one form or another. Yozak also noticed a few intricately designed weapons hanging on one of the walls, but he had a feeling that most of them were for show and not so much functionality. His eyes also quickly went to a small jewelry case, where several different crystals were setting behind a wall of glass. A couple had a strange symbol carved into them, and he stored the information to see if it would be helpful later on.

At first he thought he was going to be ignored, but then a man in a dark red cloak emerged from a back room, his face impossible to see due to the dim lighting. "I wasn't expecting any customers tonight," the man explained, "But for you, I'll make an exception."

"It's appreciated," Yozak grinned, carefully concealing the dangerous glint behind his eyes. "I'm looking for a poison, and word has it that you might be just the guy to talk to."

"Is it now?" The man wandered closer, stopping behind one of the display cases. "I suppose that might just be the case. Have a lover you want to get rid of?"

"Something like that." Yozak could see now that he had a dark-colored beard, but couldn't tell anything else beyond that. "Perhaps you might have something that doesn't cause instant death, but rather painful? And it has to work on Mazoku."

"I see… I think I might have just the thing you're looking for. Of course you won't be getting it. After all, I can't have you going back to your king and have him learn about my master."

Yozak was instantly put on alert, a hand going towards his sword hilt. But two other men suddenly appeared from behind him, and his arms were pinned before he could even draw the blade. How was that possible? His senses were sharper than most, and he hadn't even noticed their presence. It was like they had appeared from out of thin air…

"Don't think we'll give up that easily," he protested, although he didn't try to fight. Now he spotted two more behind the supposed "owner", and he was more than outnumbered.

"I highly suspect you won't. Now, if you'll follow us, our lord has some special plans just for you. I suggest not struggling, or this will be much harder than it has to be."

Yozak sighed softly to himself. He should have known that things wouldn't be quite that easy…


End file.
